A couple weeks ago I was visiting with Angie at AAH and AAK home office. Angie works behind the scenes getting the stories out to the readers. Somewhere in the conversation Angie made the suggestion that I needed to write my story. Feeling the anxiety I said I’d think about it. Anxiety seems to be part of my process before I write, draw or paint anything! I guess it’s a feeling of putting myself out there. Will it be good enough? Will it make someone feel good? Taking the first paint stroke is the hardest. Anyone that’s close to me will tell you I have a passion for drawing and painting faces. Let me take you back to the beginning maybe it will help you understand. I wasn’t what you would call a great student. It didn’t matter how much I practiced my spelling words and my poor mom drilled me during the week, the dreaded test on Friday would come. I could spell the world to you verbally but when I wrote them they were backwards. Not only was reading an issue I never passed a spelling test. I can tell you exactly where I was when my mother explained to me I would be repeating 1st grade. I’m not sure which one felt worse me or her? I felt her frustration. A teacher told me once the most challenging child is also the most rewarding. It would be years before my learning disability had a name I could understand. Dyslexia! The next year I had two tutors twice a week and Mrs. Patsy Pollard was my teacher. She was encouraging and kind to me. My mother would tell you she kept tabs on me for years. For a kid with very low self esteem Mrs. Pollard made one small gesture and posted my drawing of Clifford the Big Red Dog on the school bulletin board. You’d thought she had put it in a major art gallery. In my eyes she told me I was good at something! My love for art continued through college. It didn’t matter whether I liked or disliked my art teachers I always learned something from their perspective. I took photography classes in college as well. Back then we did not have memory cards, we had dark rooms. Seeing the photos come to life in the trays of solutions was incredible. Same thing now when seeing the faces come to life whether drawn or painted. I have had the privilege to capture a moment in someone’s journey that I hope they will cherish for many years. A lot of the faces I have drawn, I had no idea who they were. I just liked the shot I got with my camera. Getting those subjects their drawing has opened up many stories I would have never heard otherwise. I have gotten to be a fly on the wall in their journey! A lot have graduated and started their families. They don’t get to relive their high school days. Some stories are very sad, but hopefully I provided them with a positive memory to look back on. And that awkward little girl made a difference in someone else’s journey. Thanks Mrs. Pollard for believing and caring! May the legacy lives on!
